


I'm Home

by kakadolphin



Category: Naruto
Genre: Burn Out, Depression, Fluff, M/M, Naruto knows what he's doing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-02
Updated: 2020-03-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:21:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22986280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kakadolphin/pseuds/kakadolphin
Summary: While Naruto is gone, two aged-men learns what it means to have another person to come home to.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka
Kudos: 32





	I'm Home

After Naruto had left for two years to train with Jiraiya, the two former teachers felt like something was amiss. Iruka became distant, getting perpetually worse as the months raged on. He had missed his young brother terribly, and couldn’t help but wonder what he was up to, whether he was free from harm, what kind of people he was meeting. The sympathetic smiles from others did nothing to ease his increasingly aching heart, nor his friends constant attempts to drag him out of his rather unkempt house. He appreciated their concern, he really did, but sometimes just a gleam of blonde in the corner of his eye, or ocean blue or ugly orange made his mind wander. Even his trips to his favorite Ichiraku ramen shop became sparse, though more likely due to the increasing shifts he had been taking.

Kakashi began taking more strenuous missions again, finding no use in staying in the village while idle. Against the hokage’s suggestion, he refused to take on another genin team and no one questioned it. Though Gai, Sakura, and Kurenai had taken to checking up on him whenever he was around, it felt like no use. He probably heard the same lectures a thousand times. 

It was about four months when he received a letter from Naruto who semi-often wrote to catch up with his friends about his monthly antics. Kakashi blindly slipped it in his weapons pouch as he had a mission that morning and didn’t have the time to dally as he was supposed to meet up with his other teammates...half an hour ago. Oops.

When nightfall came, plopped up against a high tree as he took watch, he slipped the folded envelope out of his pockets. Quickly tearing open the envelope, he did a once over around the area before gazing down at the hand-written words.

What he read made him smirk, raise an eyebrow, nod, shake his head, roll his eyes, sigh, snicker, quirk another eyebrow before he reached the bottom note.

Hearing a sharp rustle through the trees, Kakashi pocketed the letter once again, standing up and moving to join his clone.

***

“Thank you for your service,” The dull-stricken voice drawled, retrieving the stroll from the fellow shinobi’s outstretched hand. He quickly did a once over to make sure everything was where it should be, frowned with a momentary pause and said, “The spacing is wrong here - ah,” He stopped upon looking up and realized who it was, “Kakashi-san.”

“Iruka-sensei.” The older jounin greeted with a sharp nod, immediately realizing cause for concern. The young academy teacher had barely even looked up at him to see who it was, which was completely out of character. He had been so out of focus, not to mention the slight wobble in his stance and the dark bags under his eyes. He looked slightly skinnier than the last time he saw him and his usual radiant smile that would figuratively wake up a dead corpse was now just a sharp corner tweak. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize it was you,” The younger man apologized quickly, looking down at the papers, “I haven’t seen you for a while even though the records here indicate you’ve been off and away quite a bit.”

“Maa,” At least he still made small talk, “Most of the time I pass them to the hokage when I’m there or my team, but when I am here it’s usually during academy hours I guess.” Iruka blinked and nodded at the acceptable answer. Kakashi stared at him for another moment before stepping forward, “You said something was wrong?”

“Yes, over here. That part should go over here, and that part over here. Also this part should be crossed and maybe revised to sound more… legible?” 

“Okay sensei.” Kakashi replied without retaliation, which surprised the teacher who was used to a lot of shinobi finding offense in his spotted errors. Kakashi had definitely been one of them once upon a time. Not particularly offended by the young man’s words, just lazy.

“Would you like a blank sheet?”

“If you’re able.” Iruka nodded quickly, moving into the drawer of the table to retract a new mission report and dropping it in between them. When Kakashi moved to take it, Iruka kept his palm on top refusing movement.

“Are you okay, Kakashi-san?” He asked in curiosity and slight concern, Kakashi quirked an eyebrow in question, “You seem different than your usual self. Like... Compliant.”

Kakashi felt the corner of his lips twitch in amusement, “Is that supposed to be an insult?, ” Iruka ducked his head in embarrassment, realizing his error, “It’s nothing really. I’m just a bit tired, it has been a long day.” Noticing the concern in the chuunin’s eyes grow, he quickly amended, “Or perhaps I’m just basking in nostalgia now that Iruka-sensei is scolding me again.”

Iruka blushed gently at his teasing and Kakashi was surprised to find that a part of him really did, infact, miss the younger man’s interactions, albeit small all those times but, on some level, entertaining. 

“You’re so weird.”

“Like I haven’t heard that before,” Kakashi replied, snatching the piece of paper and bringing it closer to himself. He accepted the pen Iruka slipped to him and quickly got to work. 

Iruka fell silent and began writing in a little notebook as he waited. Though it was silent between the two, both felt surprisingly relaxed in each other's presence. Kakashi bit the end of the pen as he came upon a mistake in his previous report and quickly scrapped it, drawing lines and spaces and triangles, writing quicker in squawl as he began to grow impatient with himself. He could practically feel the glare materialize in front of him, but he didn’t acknowledge it. Finally, he dropped the pen and offered the finished report to the suddenly very-aged chuunin.

It was better, far legible than the last report he supposed and neater believe it or not. Iruka nodded in slight approval and moved to file them in the basket marked ‘Completed’.

Kakashi watched him yet another second, shifting in his stance before leaning forward over the table slightly, his eyes not leaving the others who startledly looked up at him, “Neh, sensei. It seems like Naruto finally mastered that Typhoon Vortex technique he’s been working on for awhile. It’s about time, don’t you think?”

He watched Iruka slowly blink in realization, looking up to stare at him with his jaw half open, before a slow but kind grin appeared on his face. Kakashi chose to ignore the slight tingle in his chest , “ _I know right!_ ”


End file.
